Fr. John Sergiev was born in 1829, to a very Faith-centered family who could trace over 350 years of clergy within their ancestry. Fr. John seemed naturally drawn into this life of church ministry, and upon his completion of seminary studies and ordination in 1855, he was assigned to St. Andrew’s Cathedral in the seaport town of Kronstadt, just outside of St. Petersburg. Although this port was rather a “rough” place, through his extreme spiritual zeal, charismatic sermons, and with a determination to revitalize the Holy Eucharist, Fr. John “polished” his parish into a jewel of spiritual renewal. Because of his noted spiritual counsels, writings, and philanthropy, Fr. John was sought out by faithful from throughout Russia; even by the Czar and his family. Fr. John Sergiev reposed in the Lord in 1908.